Was there an RVA damaged at OSH???

[Build9A]

From a distance I saw an RV-A model in the repair/maintenance area with the cowling and nosewheel and nose fork removed. It was parked and the engine was wrapped with shrink wrap. I thought I would remember the tail number, but I forgot. It was blue, probably a 7A or 9A. Anyone know what the problem was?

[cnpeters]

The RV-9A sustained nose gear damage taxing on grass at the homebuilt camping area from what I heard. Prop looked OK, but may have had cowling damage. Didn't flip over as no damage to tail, canopy. The nose gear leg was bent with wheel/fork removed when I saw it. I, too, would like to know details. I heard Stein Bruch may have seen this happen. While many 'A' models taxi on grass all the time at OSH, this still is bothersome that it is a risk, even though I have heard they roll the fields prior to the event. Perhaps someone has more details??

[RV6_flyer]

Spoke with someone that worked in the repair area in the Monday morning DAR Recurrent training class. Said and RV-A hit a gopher hole on the way in and bent the nose gear. They fixed it and on the way to parking they hit another gopher hole and were back waiting for a new nose gear.

[ddddsp]

I had to taxi the RV10 around the west edge of 27 and there are several places I was BOUNCING even at low speed. They need to at least make the paths smoother. That is why a lot of pilots IGNORE the controller and taxi/turn where they are not told too..........NOT RECOMMENDED. But they want to avoid the long grass taxi into parking.

Dean 805HL

[Captain Avgas]

Does anybody know whether this RV9A had the new or the old fork design.

Incidentally isn't it funny how the "pilot error" brigade goes very quiet when an RV buckles the nosegear while taxiing. Not a peep out of them. And in the RV parking area at Oshkosh...just near Van's tent no doubt....how embarassing.

Perhaps Stein could post his photo of the damage.

[Bob Brown]

I looked at it in the repair stable. It had the older nose fork design. BTW, I was enjoying the RV's when I tripped in a hole in one of the grassy areas of homebuilt camping that would have torn the wheel off most small aircraft...it was grown over with grass and about 12" diameter/8" deep...I also watched a Cessna 206 land on Rwy27 and turn into the grass, then hit a hole that almost put his wing into the dirt. The pilot in the SuperCub behind him wisely took a turn around that area. There's good piloting skills and there's bad luck, that's for sure.

[LettersFromFlyoverCountry]

Originally Posted by Captain Avgas

Incidentally isn't it funny how the "pilot error" brigade goes very quiet when an RV buckles the nosegear while taxiing. Not a peep out of them. And in the RV parking area at Oshkosh...just near Van's tent no doubt....how embarassing.

I'm in neither camp but it's possible, since it only happened last Monday (I think it was Monday), folks don't have anything to say because they're predisposed to learning more information about it first.

I wrote about this last Monday evening (on the blog, I think) after I saw Stein's picture so it's not a secret or anything, and we certainly spent plenty of time talking about the nosegear issue as we sat around the campfires. But the one thing I noticed is that while everyone is concerned and wants more information, nobody I talked to had declared a definitive determination on the issue.

I suspect the "camps" actually consist of very few people way on one side of the issue and very few people way over on the other who've made up their mind... and a whole bunch of people in the middle trying to sort through the noise.

[David-aviator]

Originally Posted by RV6_flyer

Spoke with someone that worked in the repair area in the Monday morning DAR Recurrent training class. Said and RV-A hit a goffer hole on the way in and bent the nose gear. They fixed it and on the way to parking they hit another goffer hole and were back waiting for a new nose gear.

For sure a bad goffer hole day.

[wingtime]

Originally Posted by David-aviator

For sure a bad goffer hole day.

Or a good one if you look at it from the goffers view... GOT HIM TWICE!

[topgun260]

goffer

noun
1. a zealously energetic person (especially a salesman)
2. an iron used to press pleats and ridges
3. an ornamental frill made by pressing pleats

verb
1. make wavy with a heated goffering iron; "goffer the trim of the dress" [syn: gauffer]